I have always wondered what goes through the minds of the players when the clock hits 0:00 in OT. For me, it used to be, "Oh! Who’s gonna shoot?!" But at this point of the season, teams have a predictable lineup concerning the shoot out.

For the Kings: Brownie, Cammy, and Anze. Now that Cammy’s out, it’s been Sully’s number. But in the Dallas game on Jan 12th, Fro got his call up (because he’s the man). Still, in the end, it took Sully to close out the game.

In last night’s game with the Caps and Oilers going to the shootout, ESPN.com was able to get some good quotes from the owner of the game winner, Matt Bradley. The game went to 12 rounds, and with the rule being that a shooter can’t shoot more than once, I’m sure the stress gets even higher as the roster dwindles. At the same time, BOTH team’s rosters dwindle, so I don’t believe that one team has an advantage over the other in this regard.

Here are some quotes that offer insight to what was going on on the bench as this game went into more and more rounds:

"It's hard to stay focused, because you're kind of laughing at the same time," [Mike] Green said. "Like, 'Who's up next?'"

As [Bruce] Boudreau was trying to decide who to put on the ice for the 12th round of a shootout when no one had scored, [Matt] Bradley made the decision for him. "He just said, 'I'm going to score, put me out there,' and he jumped over the board and he went in," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "He told me, he didn't ask."

As the shootout progressed and the big names failed to score, Bradley started looking around to see when his number might be called. "I was hoping I got to go before [backup goalie] Brent Johnson went," Bradley said. "I figured if I can go before him, I'll be doing OK."

He was half-worried that the backup goalie was going to get a chance in the shoot out before him?? That’s so cute! And freaking hilarious.

Here’s the best quote: "I told him, 'I'll score, let me go,'" Bradley said. "I don't think either of us actually believed what I was saying."


Wow

Adam Proteau at The Hockey News illustrated just how terrible the Southeast Division is this year. This is from his column titled "Screen Shots: Burke will shop Edmonton draft pick."

How horrendous is the Southeast Division? Get this: As of mid-January, not a single team out of the Thrashers, Hurricanes, Panthers, Capitals and Lightning had scored more goals than they’ve allowed this year.

Division-leading Atlanta has allowed 17 more goals than they’ve netted and combined, the five franchises have been outscored by 83 goals so far. As we’ve talked about in THN’s editorial department lately, there’s a possibility the ninth-place team in the Eastern Conference could wind up with more points than the Southeast champion that would qualify for the post-season.

All the more reason to completely do away with divisional play altogether, I say.

That’s just sad.


Something That’s Actually Sad

Ken Campbell’s article at The Hockey News, "Tragedy all too familiar for Steve Sullivan's father," is a sobering dose of reality for the unsuspecting reader. Please take a couple of minutes to read the article because I wouldn’t be able to summarize it and do the whole story justice.


Hockeytown??

To Steph and Kirsten: Read and discuss